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Swine Influenza Daily Update: 20 July 2009, Wales
The NPHS influenza surveillance scheme, which records reports of diagnoses of flu from more than 300 GP practices across Wales, shows low but increasing levels of influenza activity across Wales. Further detail can be found on the NPHS website: click here.
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Comparative Effectiveness Necessary To Weigh New Drugs Against Old Ones, Opinion Piece Says
Patients and physicians "need to know not just whether a new drug outperforms a placebo, but whether it"s a real advance on what"s already on the market," Richard Friedman, a professor of psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medical College, writes in a New York Times opinion piece. According to Friedman, "Doctors and patients alike are inundated by drug company marketing." Friedman states he has seen "scores of patients" who are "eager to get the latest antidepressant or mood stabilizer that promised them tranquility on their TV screens." He continues that these new treatments are not necessarily better than older, proven treatments. Comparative effectiveness research would allow "head-to-head trials comparing new and standard treatments," which is why the practice has "provoked strong resistance from the makers of drugs and devices who fear that their fancy new products may not be any better than current ones," according to Friedman. He concludes, "I"d opt for an old drug with a known track record of efficacy and safety over an expensive newcomer with no added benefit -- any day of the week" (Friedman, New York Times, 5/19).
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Results From A European Caregiver Survey Highlight The Impact Of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) On The Child And The Family
Shire plc (LSE: SHP, NASDAQ: SHPGY), the global specialty biopharmaceutical company, today announced results of a European survey that found a child"s Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) symptoms at school were a key concern for parents, yet outside of school their child"s ADHD also had significant impact on parents" personal time.1 The survey also revealed key findings surrounding parents" role in assessment and treatment for their child.1 Additionally, the survey suggested that informational needs may not be met adequately for these children with ADHD and their families.1 Conducted in partnership with ADHD advocacy groups in four EU countries, the survey analysed parental impressions surrounding the impact of ADHD on their child, themselves and their family, as well as their child"s ADHD treatment plan.
Cardiovascular

UK Patients To Benefit From Access To Innovative Lung Cancer Treatment

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) have today published their recommendation for the use of the innovative chemotherapy pemetrexed (Alimta), in combination with cisplatin - a platinum based chemotherapy, as a 1st-line treatment for patients with adenocarcinoma or large-cell carcinoma non-small cell lung cancer* (NSCLC)1 within their Final Appraisal Determination (FAD). Final Guidance on the use of pemetrexed and cisplatin within this indication is anticipated to be published in September 2009 as a result of the FAD. Lilly welcomes this FAD decision which means that UK patients with adenocarcinoma and large cell carcinoma NSCLC are to benefit from publicly funded access to the combination as 1st line treatment. Lung cancer is the UK"s biggest cancer killer2 and the second most common cancer in the UK after breast cancer2, accounting for one in 20 of all deaths nationwide. Treatment with pemetrexed and cisplatin represents a significant development in non-squamous NSCLC treatment as it has shown to extend life beyond one year in certain patients**3. In addition, pemetrexed with cisplatin offers improved tolerability for non-squamous NSCLC patients3 when compared to the most widely prescribed treatment combination, gemcitabine and cisplatin. In clinical trials comparing the two treatment combinations, patients receiving pemetrexed and cisplatin required fewer transfusions, experienced lower incidence of neutropenia (a disorder leading to a low white blood cell count) and half the number of patients encountered hair loss.3 Professor Nick Thatcher, Professor in Medical Oncology at The Christie NHS Foundation Trust said: "This decision is truly significant and is fantastic news for lung cancer patients in the UK and the clinicians who have been campaigning for access. "It is NICE"s first FAD incorporating the use of histology. A histological diagnosis, the microscopic analysis of a tumour biopsy, allows the determination of exactly which type of NSCLC is present***, thereby allowing treatments to be more targeted and therefore more effective. "This "targeting" of patients has helped NICE confirm that pemetrexed and cisplatin is a clinically and cost effective treatment in patients with a confirmed diagnosis of adenocarcinoma or large-cell carcinoma." "The decision reflects the advancement pemetrexed in combination with cisplatin brings, with clinicians being able to target the right patients with the right treatment based on histological diagnosis. NICE should be commended on allowing UK patients to be the first to have funded access to this combination for the 1st line treatment of non-squamous NSCLC. "We now need to work hard to ensure that there is equitable access to this medicine throughout the UK." Pemetrexed and cisplatin are administered as an infusion every three weeks, providing an additional benefit of reducing the frequency of hospital visits and medication when compared with other treatments.4 The full FAD documentation can be found on the NICE website www.nice.org.uk. Final guidance on the use of pemetrexed and cisplatin for the 1st line treatment of locally advanced or metastatic non-squamous NSCLC is expected in September 2009 and will also be published on the NICE website. Notes * For patients with locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) ** In patients with adenocarcinoma *** Of the three types of NSCLC, pemetrexed has been shown to be more effective in two types, adenocarcinoma and large cell carcinoma (referred to as non-squamous NSCLC). These two types of NSCLC represent approximately 55% of all NSCLC cases References 1 - National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence. Pemetrexed for the 1st line treatment of non-small cell lung cancer. Final Appraisal Determination: http://guidance.nice.org.uk/TA/Wave18/25 2 - Cancer Research, UK. Cancer Stats, Key Facts on Lung Cancer and Smoking. http://info.cancerresearchuk.org/cancerstats/types/lung/ (Accessed July 2009) 3 - Scaglotti GV et al. Phase III study comparing cisplatin plus gemcitabine with cisplatin plus pemetrexed in chemotherapy-naive patients with advanced-stage non-small-cell lung cancer. J Clin Oncol; 2008 Jul 20;26(21):3543-51. Epub 2008 May 27 4 - Alimta SmPC Eli Lilly and Company Limited


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